Arvind Mahankali wins spelling bee

With a small, infinitely cool smile, Arvind Mahankali, 13, correctly spelled “knaidel”– a dumpling, basically — to win the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Mahankali finished third in both 2011 and 2012, but this year, he defeated 280 other spellers to become champion. After the field was culled to 11, another remaining speller incorrectly spelled “cyanophycean” — we feel you, bro — and Mahankali had to spell two words correctly, first “tokonoma” then “knaidel.” He gets a banging trophy, $30,000, and all the confetti his heart could desire.

Watch the moment here:

And here’s him on Today saying my new favorite quote, “This year I decided that, no matter what, I wouldn’t be eliminated on a German word”: